FRIENDS FOREVER
"Hmmmm...red one." The friendly and upbeat voice of Jack said as the labrador pointed to a car racing down the motorway whilst Legoshi nodded his head and pointed at a silver car that also sped down.
"That's seven for me and twelve for you." The grey wolf said to Jack with a small chuckle whilst in the background Thorn was conserving on his phone, pacing back and forth as he did so.
"What's taking him so long?" Jack asked Legoshi with a small sigh to which the grey wolf shrugged as he looked over at the still pacing wolf.
"I thought you'd know," Legoshi said to Jack in his usual low monotone voice as the wolf's tail softly swayed behind him from side to side whilst Jack chuckled in a slightly sly manner.
"Well, I'm going to go find out," Jack said to Legoshi with a cheeky smile and a swish of his tail before the brown-eyed labrador began to quickly make his way over to Thorn with a small skip.
"Yeah...I'll head back home soon...I promise." Thorn sighed sadly and with a hint of annoyance as the light blonde and white-furred wolf ended the call on his phone just as Jack made his way up behind the wolf with a chuckle.
"Who was that? sounded important?" Jack said to the confused wolf with a smile and a small bend of his head causing Thorn to let out a small sigh and a shrug.
"Mum wants me to head back soon. Something about a family meeting." Thorn groaned before laying his back against the nearby street light as Jack nodded his head in understanding.
"Do you have to go right now?" The golden blonde furred labrador said to Thorn with a small friendly smile on his face whilst Legoshi made his way over to the two mammals with a curious look on his grey and cream furred features.
"Are we having a meeting of some kind?" Legoshi asked the two mammals with a genuinely curious tone of voice to which Jack shook his head with a small smirk on his face.
"No Thorn here just wants yo ditch us Legoshi. To think we thought of him as a friend!" Jack swooned and put on a sad and distraught voice to which Legoshi rolled his eyes before looking to Thorn in concern.
"Is everything okay? You were talking for a while." Legoshi asked Thorn with a genuine and caring tone to which the red wolf nodded his head and smiled though deep down the wolf in question was worried.
"Of course. Just a small meeting at home that's all. I don't have to rush off anywhere yet." Thorn said to Legoshi with a smile and a pat to the grey wolf's shoulders before Jack popped his head up in between the two wolves with a smile.
"Well, in that case, the last one to the noodle bar pays!" Jack chuckled and laughed as the dog quickly began to run off in the direction of the aforementioned place whilst both Thorn and Legoshi laughed and gave chase much to the laughter of Jack.
"I thought I was paying?" Thorn yelled with a laugh as Legoshi playfully nudged the red wolf as they chased after the laughing labrador to which Thorn smiled and ran faster along with the grey wolf at his side.
"You shouldn't keep challenging us to races Jack, you don't have a chance against two wolves." Thorn chuckled and patted the panting labradors back as the trio slowly made their way to the noodle bar as the delicious scent of noodles and sauces flooded the canines' noses.
"I know but hey it was fun right?" Jack smiled and panted not noticing that both Thorn and Legoshi were sniffing the air bathing in the scents of the sauces and noodles.
"Right?" Jack asked again finally noticing the two wolves sniffing the air happily only to quickly snap the two out of it when Thorn began to drool slightly.
"Jeez, you two!" Jack said in a slight panic as the labrador quickly shut Thorns slowly opening muzzle as a few herbivores within the vicinity looked on at the small group curiously and with what seemed like a small hint of fear.
"Sorry, Jack," Thorn said in a muffled voice as the labrador sighed and released his hold on the wolf's muzzle whilst Legoshi noticed the looks from the other mammals.
"Its much busier than usual today." The grey wolf noted as he looked around noticing the number of mammals who made there way past the noodle bar as well as ordering from it.
"Yeah I've never seen it so busy before," Jack added as the labrador made his way over to the bar whilst gesturing both wolves to follow him with his paws.
After ordering and eating a bowl of steaming hot spiced noodles each with a fried egg on top the three mammals all sighed contently whilst Legoshi looked at his two best friends with a smile.
This is what the wolf always wanted. He wanted friends who didn't care what he was or how he acted and after meeting Jack he never knew he would get to meet another mammal who he could truly call a best friend let alone another wolf.
"I can't lie, Jack, you do have a knack for finding the best places to eat." Thorn chuckled and sighed contently before a can of soda came out of nowhere and hit Thorn hard in the side of his muzzle causing the wolf to yelp in slight pain and fall off of his stall.
"What the hell are mammals like you doing around here!" A loud and drunk sounding voice yelled out at the trio as Jack was quick to check up on Thorn and his muzzle whilst Legoshi looked around for the mammal who yelled out whilst trying to hold back his anger.
"You shouldn't be allowed anywhere without a muzzle fastened to your stinking mouths!" The voice yelled out again before Legoshi's deep brown eyes narrowed at the large black-suited male deer who began to make his way toward the group.
"Come on Legoshi lets get out of here," Jack said to the grey wolf who was staring down the deer with a deep glare whilst the labrador helped Thorn off of the floor with a small grunt due to the size difference of the two mammals.
"My fellow herbivores let me show you how weak these carnivores can be." The deer chuckled as a small worried crowd gathered around the area causing Jack to look around in fear and panic whilst Thorn rubbed his muzzle with his right paw.
"We don't want any trouble," Legoshi said to the deer in his usual low yet calm and monotone voice whilst the deer let out a laugh as he pulled out a knife from his black trousered pocket causing a few animals in the crowd to mutter and gasp.
"Legoshi come on let's go!" Jack yelled at the grey wolf who turned his head at the wrong time to face the golden furred labrador as the deer cut his brown-furred hand before lunging at Legoshi with the oozing fresh wound aimed at the wolfs head.
"Look out!" Jack yelled at Legoshi in shock as the grey wolf seemingly froze as he turned and focused on the oncoming bloodied hand of the deer only to be shoved away by Thorn as the bloody hand collided and smeared all over the wolfs face whilst both Jack and Legoshi looked on in shock and fear.
The crowd seemed to realize the danger of the situation as two sheep held back the bleeding deer whilst Thorn began to pant as his body shook and blood dripped from the wolf's light blonde and white-furred face.
Legoshi couldn't help but look at Thorn in disbelief and shock as the wolf desperately tried to wipe the blood from his face only to smear the blood onto his white paws turning them a deep red.
Thorn began to pant more and more as the wolf closed his leaf green eyes shut tightly as the scent of the blood began to creep into the wolf's nose as he tried his hardest to fight his natural instinct to dive at the deer and devour him.
To taste meat for the first time in his life and to give in to what he truly was.
A wolf.
A beast.
A carnivore.
"Thorn! Thorn are you okay?!" Jack said to Thorn desperately as the labrador quickly made his way over the now kneeling wolf before spotting the blood that coated his friend's face and paws which caused the dog to take a momentary step back in fear from the wolf.
Legoshi on the other paw quickly broke from his frozen and shocked state as the grey wolf quickly grabbed Thorn by the shoulders before leading the shaking wolf away from the crowd with Jack following close behind with a sad and guilty look plastered on his face.
"That's it! Runaway you monsters!" The deer yelled out drunkenly whilst laughing as the trio escaped out of sight as Legoshi held onto Thorn tightly in both a worried and in an instinctual protective manner as Jack quickly overtook the two wolves before leading the way to a safe and secure area.
Thorn meanwhile was trying to focus his breathing whilst putting all his mental and physical effort into keeping his muzzle shut as his instincts screamed at him to lick off the blood from his face and paws.
"You're going to be fine Thorn. Just hold on." Legoshi said to Thorn in a desperate and worried tone as the grey wolf felt his friend shake and whine as he too could smell the blood that coated Thorn's face and paws.
It was hard for the grey wolf to stay composed and focused himself as Jack led the two wolves to the river as the smell of blood from Thorn was pulling at Legoshis own instincts which put into perspective how bad it was for the red wolf he was carrying.
"Over here!" Jack yelled to Legoshi as the golden furred labrador found a runoff to the river whilst Thorn's muzzle began to slowly open.
"Nice thinking Jack," Legoshi said to Jack with a nod before the grey wolf helped Thorn over to the river before slowly helping his friend down toward the water.
Thorn had tried his hardest to keep his muzzle closed but even before they had reached the river the wolf had opened his mouth. He fought his instincts and the pull they had but it was too late.
He had tasted the blood of a herbivore and even as the wolf looked deep into the river at his reflection and at the blood that coated his face he wanted it. He wanted to lick it all off and give in to his instincts and it hurt him deeply especially as the wolf looked toward Jack who quickly looked away from the wolf.
"Thorn? Are you okay?" Thorn heard the muffled voice of Legoshi as the wolf's hearing was blocked out as all the wolf felt was pain seeing one of his best friends look away from him.
Seeing one of his best friends fear him.
The light blonde and white-furred wolf then quickly dunked his head into the water along with his paws as the river washed away the blood like a bad dream.
Except this wasn't a bad dream.
This was a reality.
Legoshi put a paw on Thorns back as the grey wolf watched the red wolf wash the blood from both his face as well as his paws leaving a red coloration in the water whilst Jack watched from a small distance, his ears down and his tail tucked between his legs.
After a few seconds, Thorn wrenched his now fur soaked head from the water panting for air as Legoshi still had a paw on the wolf's back in support.
"You okay?" Legoshi asked Thorn in a caring and concerned tone of voice as Thorn seemed to stare out at the river before looking down at his white-furred paws only to see blood oozing from them like ink from a broken pen.
"Thorn?" Jack asked as the golden furred labrador slowly made his way over to the light blonde and white-furred wolf only for Thorn to begin sobbing into his paws as his ears splayed back and his tail curled around him.
Legoshis ears splayed back softly before the wolf brought the fellow Canis lupus into a soft and protective hug as the leaf green-eyed wolf soaked his fur with tears whilst Jack shook his head with a small sniffle before joining in on the hug as the two mammals comforted Thorn.
"Feeling a bit better?" Legoshi asked Thorn in a soft and caring tone as the grey wolf slowly began to remove his arms from around the light blonde and white-furred wolf.
It had been an hour since the trio had arrived at the river and for the majority of that time, Thorn had been beyond distraught as the wolf cried and held on tightly to his friends for what to him was for his dear life although a few minutes ago the red wolf had calmed down a substantial amount as well as ceased his sobbing.
"If you need a place to stay for a bit my house isn't far from here," Jack said to Thorn in a low and caring tone of voice as if any loud noise would set the wolf off again.
"He has a point, Thorn," Legoshi said to the silent red wolf only for the wolf in question to shake his head as he slowly got up and out of Legoshis embrace.
"I'll be fine," Thorn said to the two mammals as the wolf's features seemed to darken a bit as his tail stayed tucked softly against his legs whilst his ears slowly went back to their alert position.
"Are you sure? I only live a block from here. You can get some rest and I can make us all a drink and some food." Jack said to Thorn in a happy and caring tone of voice as the labrador's tail began to slowly wag only for Thorn to shake his head in answer.
"No. It's best I get back home." Thorn said to the two mammals in a lifeless tone of voice which caused Jack to look down sadly at the ground as his tail stopped wagging and his ears drooped.
Legoshi felt the worst he had in a long time. The day had started off rather well with the trio meeting at the bench and Jack's antics had brought smiles to both his and Thorn's faces and on there way down to the noodle bar they had all joked and talked about everything and anything.
Legoshi felt like he could finally fully come out of his shell and be with the two best mammals he knew but now, now it had all been ruined.
The grey and cream furred wolf couldn't help but growl softly to himself as the image of the deer from the noodle bar made its way into his head as well as the way he acted toward said deer.
He had acted weak and rolled over to act like he and his friends were in the wrong and not the deer.
Thorn had to jump in to take a blow meant for him and now one of his best friends had been affected in ways Legoshi didn't even want to think about.
Deep anger began to take hold of the grey wolf as he felt his paws clench tightly as his thoughts turned to the way Jack had acted toward Thorn after seeing said wolf covered in blood.
Jack the most friendly and kind mammal Legoshi knew had been afraid of Thorn a thought that would never have crossed the grey wolf's mind if the events at the noodle bar hadn't happened.
Legoshi couldn't believe it but he felt as if the deer had created a small void between Jack and Thorn. A void that Legoshi felt could lead to the two mammals falling out and away from him.
It was if his pack could have ended.
"Legoshi?!" Jack yelled causing the grey wolf to snap out of his train of thought as he looked at Jack in confusion noting the upset look that was plastered on the light brown-eyed labradors face as Legoshi sensed something was wrong as his ears began to fold down against the back of his head.
"Jack... where did Thorn go?" Legoshi asked the guilty and sad looking canine in front of him as Jack's ears splayed back against his golden blonde furred head.
"Thorn...Thorns gone."